Hex: The Full Story is for anyone - hobbyist, professional, student, teacher - who enjoys board games, game theory, discrete math, computing, or history. hex was discovered twice, in 1942 by Piet Hein and again in 1949 by John F. nash. How did this happen? Who created the puzzle for Hein's Danish newspaper column? How are Martin Gardner, David Gale, Claude Shannon, and Claude Berge involved? What is the secret to playing Hex well? The answers are inside... Features New documents on Hein's creation of Hex, the complete set of Danish puzzles, and the identity of their composer Chapters on Gale's game Bridg-it, the game Rex, computer Hex, open Hex problems, and more Dozens of new puzzles and solutions Study guide for Hex players Supplemenetary text for a course in game theory, discrete math, computer science, or science history

A comprehensive study of the connection game genre, Connection Games provides a survey of known connection games while exploring common themes and strategies. This book aims to impose some structure on this increasingly large family of games, and to define exactly what constitutes a connection game. Key games are examined in detail and complete rules for over 200 connection games and variants are provided. A connection game is a board game in which players vie to develop or complete a specific type of connection with their pieces. This might involve forming a path between two or more goals, completing a closed loop, or gathering all pieces together into a single connected group.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Computers and Games, CG 2013, held in Yokohama, Japan, in August 2013, in conjunction with the 17th Computer and Games Tournament and the 20th World Computer-Chess Championship. The 21 papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected for inclusion in this book. They cover a wide range of topics which are grouped into five classes: Monte Carlo Tree Search and its enhancements; solving and searching; analysis of game characteristic; new approaches; and serious games.

International Series in Modern Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Volume 10: Symmetry: Unifying Human Understanding provides a tremendous scope of "symmetry, covering subjects from fractals through court dances to crystallography and literature. This book discusses the limits of perfection, symmetry as an aesthetic factor, extension of the Neumann-Minnigerode-Curie principle, and symmetry of point imperfections in solids. The symmetry rules for chemical reactions, matching and symmetry of graphs, mosaic patterns of H. J. Woods, and bilateral symmetry in insects are also elaborated. This text likewise covers the crystallographic patterns, Milton's mathematical symbol of theodicy, symmetries of soap films, and gapon formalism. This volume is a good source for researchers and specialists concerned with symmetry.

Bringing together basic ideas, classical theories, recent experimental and theoretical aspects, this book explains desiccation cracks from simple, easily-comprehensible cases to more complex, applied situations. The ideal team of authors, combining experimental and theoretical backgrounds, and with experience in both physical and earth sciences, discuss how the study of cracks can lead to the design of crack-resistant materials, as well as how cracks can be grown to generate patterned surfaces at the nano- and micro-scales. Important research and recent developments on tailoring desiccation cracks by different methods are covered, supported by straightforward, yet deep theoretical models. Intended for a broad readership spanning physics, materials science, and engineering to the geosciences, the book also includes additional reading especially for students engaged in pattern formation research.